Scotland eyes October launch for offshore wind leasing round

April 30 (Renewables Now) - Scotland’s upcoming leasing round for offshore wind projects will be launched in October 2019, Crown Estate Scotland announced on Monday.

The final timing for the ScotWind Leasing round will depend on Marine Scotland’s preparation of the new Sectoral Marine Plan for Offshore Wind, as Crown Estate Scotland wants to invite applications for Option Agreements based on the areas identified by the planning work. Developers will be provided with further details in a pre-launch initiative that will take place in July 2019.

The table below contains the proposed timings for the leasing round, as announced on April 29, 2019.

Steps

Proposed timings

Pre-launch

July 2019

Full launch

October 2019

Deadline for applications

February 2020 - April 2020

Decision taken on which applications are successful

May 2020 - July 2020

“Scotland has the potential to be a major focus for offshore wind activity in the coming years. We want to provide clarity around our leasing proposals. We’ll continue to liaise closely with the industry and others in the coming months, and we’ll confirm the exact launch date in due course,” said John Robertson, senior development Manager for Crown Estate Scotland.

Veselina Petrova is one of Renewables Now's most experienced green energy writers. For several years she has been keeping track of game-changing events both large and small projects and across the globe.